Ep 1.1 – Bowling Green Park Occupation – Step 1 of the Old New York & New Amsterdam Series

Welcome to the first step of the Old New York & New Amsterdam series! Each episode will be a step through the streets of Old New York & New Amsterdam. We are going to be taking a deep look at some unexpected moments in New York’s oldest history and today we begin with a fence! We are going to topple into a New York in the midst of a city in the middle of a seven-year long military occupation and everyday people trying to make sense of a very uncertain future

1. just listen as you go about your day as you would any other podcast!

2. Armchair tour:

If you are enjoying this podcast from the comfort of your home or office or coffee shop and want to follow along visually, here’s the link to the Google Street View of our first step today at Bowling Green Park in lower Manhattan.

3. Visit and take the steps yourself:

If you are in New York and would like to do these steps on your own this episode’s step and the other ones in this series can serve as an audio guide for you as gift from us. Spend an hour or two roaming the streets of New Amsterdam with us. To follow along first take the subway (closest is the 4,5) to the “Bowling Green” stop, come up and look for the small oval park opposite the Customs House. Here is a handy map of the tour you can use in your smart phone/tablet or print it out as you like (Please note, we will add each step as the episode is released, so this series may not be complete yet):

Background:

A much later illustration of the 1776 tearing down of the statue of King George:

Photo of Bowling Green Park today:

Further reading:

Gotham is Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace’s magisterial overview of the city from its start until 1898.